When the 65 boat field of student anglers competing in the inaugural BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Open presented by Pepsi was released from Paris Landing Marina at 5:30 a.m. this morning, it was perfectly comfortable. By the time the first boat checked in at 2:30 in the afternoon, the excessive heat and humidity that settled over Kentucky Lake made it almost unbearable to be outside. However, the extreme heat didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the devoted anglers who are competing to become the top collegiate bass fishing team in the nation.
The unique tournament format allows each university to send as many teams as they like. A team may consist of up to 6 anglers and 3 boats. The full field competes both days and the winners are determined by the combined weight of each team’s two heaviest boat weights each day. For clubs that are only able to send 1 boat, the single boat weight will be doubled each day.
For conservation reasons, takeoff was moved to 5:30 a.m. and the first flight check-in time was changed to 2:30. The anglers were also allowed to weigh a portion or all of their catch beginning at noon in order to protect the health of the fish and to avoid fish care penalties.
University of Nebraska grabbed the day one lead with an impressive total of 43.84 pounds. Because the Cornhuskers have three anglers who wanted to compete but were only able to come up with one boat to use in the competition, Team captain Kyle Branecki will change partners on day two. Day one partner, Brandon Rudloff, will serve as a non fishing observer and accompany David Cosner of Texas State University who’s fishing solo. Chris Reimers will partner with Baranecki on day two to try to seal the deal. “I’ve looked forward to fishing Kentucky Lake my entire life – now I want to move here,” said Branecki. “I’ve watched bass tournaments and TV fishing shows filmed on Kentucky Lake for years. I’m awestruck and I can’t believe we’re leading.”
Branecki and Rudloff caught all but one of the 5 bass they weighed in from a small sweet spot on a medium depth ledge. There were two key 20 minute periods during the day when the school fired up and bit. The pair hopes the spot will produce again tomorrow and commented that they have a few backup spots that they’ll fish if necessary.
Rounding out the top 5 teams is:
| 2nd | Murray State University | 43.11 |
| 3rd | Univ. of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 41.86 |
| 4th | Eastern Kentucky University | 40.42 |
| 5th | Southeast Missouri State Univ. | 39.30 |
The BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Open presented by Pepsi is sanctioned by the Association of Collegiate Anglers will be televised on Versus by Careco Mulitmedia beginning in August of 2010. The weekly television series will showcase all of the 2010 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series events.
